Welcome to the Real World
by Lovebites and Popcorn
Summary: She granted him this one final request, even though she knew that she was just building his desired sandcastles in the asphyxiating air. Implied AkuRoku.


**Welcome to the Real World, she said to me**

_It was all for his own selfish reasons. But he just wanted a friend. And she granted his one final request, knowing that she was just building his sandcastles in the suffocating air. Implied AkuRoku, but mainly consists of the interaction between Axel and Naminé._

* * *

"Hey. I need you to do me a favour."

Naminé looked up from where she had been drawing a picture that was meant to depict the three figures of a boy and his two companions. She was a little surprised that she hadn't heard the man's approach. But then again, she supposed the Nobody could just appear in the mansion whenever he wanted through his portals of darkness.

She eyed the visitor warily, a guarded expression gracing her features. The black coat he wore and his flaming red hair contrasted vividly against the paleness of the large room. "What kind of favour?" she asked guardedly, unsure of the expression that the redhead wore.

"Promise you'll do it first," Axel said. "You still owe me one."

"Owe you one," the girl in white repeated, her voice almost stiff and rigid, if not for the fact that it sounded so fragile. "Owe you one for nearly killing me?" Her wide blue eyes were unblinking.

Axel laughed at the girl's nerve for bringing up such a long-forgotten affair. "I suppose that sort of evened it out a little," he muttered with a smirk. His eyes never left Naminé's elfin face. "Still, I _did_ give you the chance to run away. But then, you made a poor decision and chose the wrong route."

Naminé looked defiantly back at the tall Nobody.

They remained like that for awhile, just staring at each other, the crayon in the girl's tiny fingers still poised over her prized sketchbook.

When it became apparent that the redhead was not going to leave her in peace, Naminé sighed and placed her crayon down onto the tabletop with tender care.

"Alright. I won't promise anything," she murmured. "But I'll hear what you have to say. What do you want me to do?" Her tone was subdued and quiet. And just a little curious.

Axel looked closely at Naminé momentarily with pursed lips. Then, he glanced away as though weighing his odds. Either that or he was contemplating on whether or not he should be going through with this.

"He doesn't have his memories, does he?" he said finally, a hand driving through his mess of red hair in restless uncertainty.

Naminé was silent for awhile. Then, she shook her head with a sort of sad resolve. "No." She peered at Axel enquiringly. He was still pointedly avoiding her gaze. "But there is a chance he'll regain them," she continued. "It's slight. But it's possible. Maybe when he finally merges with Sora-"

Axel crossed his arms. "_Don't_ you speak his name to me," he hissed, eyes narrowing.

The rest of Naminé's sentence died in her throat.

Axel cursed and let loose a frustrated sigh. "I don't really care for chances, Naminé. In fact, I don't _care_ if he regains them or not. What _I_ _want_ is for you to rewrite his memories."

The girl gave a start, jerking in her seat at such an unbelievable notion.

When she finally found her voice once more, it came out hard and firm.

"I can't do that."

"Oh, you _will_," the taller Nobody growled, his fingers twitching. "Because…" his voice quietened all of a sudden, "… I want you to rewrite only the memories he has of me."

Axel's green eyes finally met Naminé's blue ones once more.

The pale girl saw how broken and empty those emerald orbs looked and her expression softened a little.

"You never knew him all that well, Axel," she said gently. "Why now?"

"Never thought about how important it was back then," Axel replied.

Well, _this_ changed things a little. And Naminé wondered if maybe, maybe Axel _did_ have some kind of a heart after all. The younger Nobody smiled piteously, glanced down at her drawing, and looked back up with a small nod. "_Tell me_," she whispered tenderly. "And I'll see what I can do."

She flipped to a blank page in her sketchbook.

"I'll appreciate it." Axel offered her a small, crooked grin in return. "He… he was just so lonely back then."

"… And so were you…"

"Yeah. So was I."

The girl began to draw.

* * *

"_Roxas…"_

"_Naminé?"_

"_This is… me? … And Axel's here too."_

_Naminé just smiled._

"_You ARE best friends."_

* * *

And somewhere in Naminé's non-existent heart, she knew she had done the right thing. After all, it wasn't really a lie. Axel _was_ Roxas' best friend. Roxas didn't have to know that it was all just a false memory that someone else had wished were true in a life long gone.

She didn't mind building Axel's sandcastles for him. At least Roxas now had something to hold on to when he finally regained the rest of his unchained memories of the lonely Organization he had been a part of in the past.


End file.
